Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has come out to say that his star forward Mohamed Salah is still reeling from the results of the just concluded African Cup of Nations which was held in Cameroon.
Salah returned to Liverpool on Tuesday to prepare with his club ahead of their upcoming Premier League game against Leicester City on Thursday after losing in the final with Egypt to fellow Red Sadio Mane’s Senegal.
Salah’s Egypt and Mane’s Senegal played out a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes but Salah’s Egypt lost 4-2 on penalties after hitting the post and seeing one of their spot-kicks saved.
Klopp welcomed his leading goalscorer back to the team and had a chat with him, where he concluded that the Afcon final is still weighing on Salah’s mind.
“He is happy to be back but is disappointed as well,” Klopp said on Wednesday in his pre-match press conference as Liverpool prepare to take on Leicester City on Thursday.
“Yesterday, everyone could see that he still has the final in his mind. I think it will be tonight [Wednesday] he is back.”
Both Salah and Mane will have to transition from one intense style to another in a short while as they reintegrate into the Liverpool squad. However, Salah will have had two training sessions more than Mane, who stayed behind on the continent of Africa for a victory tour in his home country of Senegal with the country’s first-ever AfCON title.
Mane ready to leave Liverpool if he receives offers from two clubs
Meanwhile, Mane is believed to be ready to move on from Liverpool having achieved most of his career ambitions while at the club.
The former Southampton man has won the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool and has now added the AfCON title to it, his country’s first-ever international trophy.
Reports now claim that he has spoken to his agents to look out for offers from two of Europe’s biggest clubs in Real Madrid and Barcelona as he hopes to win a title with one of them before he retires.
The Senegalese forward, 29, is hoping to cement his status as the best African footballer in history by moving to either of these clubs and making history with them, according to GOAL.
Mane, as well as Salah, is out of a contract at Anfield in 2023 but talks are not progressing with the club. Meanwhile, Liverpool is on the verge of tying Salah down to a much more lucrative contract, with the final financial details still being agreed upon.
